Imperials Vs. Sentinels- part 4- The Valiant and the Faithful

Part 17- The rise of Halvor

Three years had passed since the passing of Verana's last major figures, and the country had finally moved on.  Despite this, their achievements were remembered and their legacy lived on.

The land of Blunder hadn't changed much since the defeat of the Vikings, but that was soon to change.

He had evaded the two elite knights, and now that he was old enough to fight for himself, he only had one destination in mind. He had met many important figures with the exact information he wanted. After finding refuge under the protection of a small group of mercenaries, he set course for Verana.

After arriving, he was welcomed into Verana's shipyard and escorted to the palace. The large fortress and therefore the nation was now under the ownership of a Rhydon named Calius. When presented to the leader, Halvor, Kraven's only surviving son, spoke before the new king. wasted no time revealing why he came.
"I wish to confront Xavier and Shade immediately, for the murder of my father."
Calius looked at his advisor, who shared his leader's confused look. Halvor then shared their perplexed expressions.
"Is what I ask so hard to believe?"
Calius returned the Jolteon's gaze.
"No..."
He started.
"However, Xavier and Shade are both deceased. They have been for many years."
Halvor was stunned. He hadn't heard this from anyone he talked to. He had mixed emotions about the death of his two greatest enemies. Firstly, he counted them lucky for not meeting him, and he was also glad they were dead. Despite this, the fact he hadn't been able to kill them himself left him bitter. He decided that if he couldn't fight the two he hated, he had no purpose in Verana. He stayed the night and took his leave the next day, setting course for Blunder.

He stood before what had once been the Vikings' great fortress. It was run down, rotting and burned; the damage done at the battle of Blunder was still evident. Nature had taken over the fort since that battle, but Halvor was optimistic about a repair attempt. His father had hidden his fortune on Taruna, and after his death, Halvor inherited it. Only one problem stood in Halvor's way, and that was the knights who patrolled the ruins of the fortress. Halvor was unsure of why this was deemed necessary, but he wasn't going to stand for it. He was smart enough to know that he couldn't face them all alone, but he didn't have to. He knew a small group of Pokemon that would help him.

It wasn't hard to find them. He saw their camp just several kilometres north of the ruins. They welcomed him as he approached.
"Halvor, welcome. It's been a long time since we last saw you."
The mercenaries who had sheltered him were the ones he had sought after, and after finding them, he explained his goal and how they could help.
"If you're looking for a well paid job, I could use some help clearing out some rats from my father's great fortress."
The mercenaries had grown in numbers and therefore power since Halvor left, meaning the chance of success was much higher than if Halvor faced the knights alone.
"Looking to restore your father's clan? Of course we'll help you. It's been a while since we've had a good fight."
Halvor smiled, thinking of the great glory retaking the fortress would bring.

Halvor, aided by his old friends, marched up to the fortress.
"Knights!"
He bellowed, seeing two look over the wall.
"This fortress belongs to me! You will either leave peacefully or die! The choice is yours!"
The two knights disappeared back over the wall, being replaced by several archers. The group headed toward the door, avoiding the arrows flying toward them. The front door wasn't even locked; Halvor and a mercenary managed to push it open fairly easily. The inside looked worse than the outer walls, but Halvor's focus was on the Knights the stood between him and the gateway to the middle section. He drew his axe, sand the group behind him stood ready.
"Don't spare anyone."
The group charged, facing little resistance from the defenders. The fight was shortly over, but the battle was only just beginning. The archers on the outside wall were now firing at the group inside, and Halvor had decided they were a necessary target. After dealing with them all singlehandedly, he rejoined the group as they cleared the outer section.

The middle section wasn't as lightly defended, and some mercenaries were lost in the fight, but the small attacking force broke through to the locked gate, leading to the inner part of the stronghold.
"The gate is locked, Halvor. It looks too heavy to break through."
A mercenary told the Viking. He looked around for something useful. He found a standard sized axe and some rope, but that was all he needed. He tied the rope to the pommel of the axe and used it as a grappling hook, managing to lodge the blade of the axe securely into the wooden wall above.
"Let's hope this works."
He commented after testing the security of the hook. He slowly climbed the wall, the rope supporting his weight until he reached the top. He was then able to reach the ground. What he hadn't expected was to see two more knights suddenly rush toward him with their weapons drawn. He quickly positioned his axe across his chest, blocking both blades. With brute force, he pushed both of the attacking knights back. This was a fight he had to handle alone. Halvor quickly found that he was stronger than both of the knights, and he used it to his advantage. He managed to knock one off balance, and using the time to face the other one alone, he struck the knight's sword hard enough to knock it out if his grip. Without a weapon to defend himself, the knight was quickly cut down. Halvor had just enough time to block the other knight's blade. After blocking every strike the knight tried to hit him with, Halvor swung with a ferocious amount of strength and cut the knight's left arm right off. He then pushed the knight onto his back, pinned him down and pushed the blade of his axe toward the knight's neck. The knight used his last remaining arm to push against the axe, but after a losing battle his strength gave out, and
he lost his head as Halvor's blade cut it clean off. After opening the gate from the inside the mercenaries joined Halvor once again, and the inner section was almost theirs. Only one final group of knights stood between them and their final goal. One stood tall on the fortress's balcony, impaling one mercenary before pulling his blade out and striking another with the hilt of he weapon. The strength of the blow knocked the mercenary down, and the knight buried the blade into the mercenary's exposed stomach. It was then that Halvor swung at him, but the knight deflected his blade and hit the Viking with a strong punch. Staggering backward, Halvor was slightly dazed. He regained his composure and tried to force the knight to make a mistake, but the elite knight was too well trained and focused to be fooled easily. It was a long and tiring process, but Halvor soon managed to wear the knight down. He tiredly swung at Halvor; just the mistake he was looking for. Halvor dodged the swing, which instead cut through a part of the balcony's fence. Halvor grabbed the knight by the chest and threw him through the gap he created. His cry of despair slowly got quieter as he fell fifty feet and into the pit of deadly spikes below. The knights that hadn't been killed by mercenaries, seeing the death of their superior, yielded to the attackers. With that, Halvor had reclaimed his old fortress, and although it still needed reparations, it was his. It was also found that the knights weren't Veranian, seeing as the blue and white colour of the knights' apparel didn't match the one used in modern Verana, which was red with yellow accents. This meant Verana's newfound peace would be maintained, at least for the moment. After the last knights were executed by Halvor himself, his problems were over.

The mercenaries were paid, the knights' bodies were removed and Halvor was the rightful new owner of his late father's fortress. Everything had been put in place for the creation of a new Viking clan in Blunder. As Halvor watched the sun set from his new home, he began to imagine what he would create. He would continue his father's legacy, bring prestige back to the Vikings, and perhaps expand from Blunder and create the first Viking empire. He had the money, left to him by his father. Now all he needed was the citizens, soldiers and transport to make his new civilisation something very special, and make the Vikings a feared and unstoppable force once more.

The creation of a new Viking clan by Kraven's son would be a big blow to the reputation of Verana's deceased, celebrated heroes. Their failure was marked by Halvor's success. The neighbouring nations of Blunder had marked its fall as the beginning of a new, more civilised age, but now the vikings had returned, and the north region of the world would soon need to redraw its maps. The decision of whether or not hostilities were necessary was a big one for Blunder, and one that would change the course of history. The power they held was much larger than before, and the need to manage it carefully was hard to overstate.

The Vikings look like they're back to stay! It's up to Halvor what route this new clan will take, and what they'll famously be known for.

Also, there's only two chapters left before the series is finished! We're really nearing the end now.

Anyway, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. As always, see you all in the next chapter, and peace.